White House confirms 'seismic event' near suspected test site

Bush denounces North Korea nuclear test

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, October 8, 2006

WASHINGTON — President Bush said today that a reported North Korean nuclear test poses a threat to global peace and security, denouncing it as "unacceptable.''

Bush said the action "deserves an immediate response'' by the U.N. Security Council.''

Bush said he had called the leaders of South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, and all had reaffirmed a commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

"Once again, North Korea has defied the will of the international community and the international community will respond,'' Bush said.

Bush said the United States was still attempting to confirm that a nuclear test had actually taken place. Still, he said, "such a claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and security.''

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Bush's comments were in a brief statement he made in the diplomatic reception room of the White House.

"A North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in Northeast Asia,'' White House press secretary Tony Snow said earlier in a conference call with reporters.

While saying he was not confirming that a nuclear test had occurred, Snow said, "We expect the U.N. Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act.''

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., issued a statement denouncing North Korea's action as "the desperate act of a criminal regime'' and said the House would support Bush and the international community in condemning that country's ``reckless decision.''

Snow said the North Koreans notified the Chinese that they intended to conduct the test. The Chinese then notified the U.S. embassy in Beijing, which passed the word to other U.S. officials, Snow said.

Snow declined to speculate on a possible U.S. response to a North Korean nuclear test. "At this point we're still assessing the data and trying to figure out what happened,'' he said. "A lot of this hinges on what the data tells us.''

Asked whether he knew of any plans for a military response, Snow said "no.''

A U.S. government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of political sensitivity of the situation, said the seismic event could have been a nuclear explosion, but its small size was making it difficult for authorities to pin down.

North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for as few as four and as many as about a dozen nuclear bombs. But until Sunday's apparent action, Pyongyang had never tested a device.

U.S. intelligence has been closely watching several sites in North Korea that could be used for a nuclear test. Movements of people, automobiles, fencing and other items convinced some analysts last week that a test could come soon.

Over the last week, U.S. officials have been anticipating news of a nuclear weapons test in North Korea.

The U.N. Security Council urged North Korea on Friday to cancel the planned test and return immediately to talks on scrapping its nuclear weapons program, saying that exploding such a device would threaten international peace and security. A statement adopted unanimously by the council expressed "deep concern'' over North Korea's announcement.

The U.S. and its allies have been trying to lure North Korea back to stalled international efforts to persuade Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear weapons program.

Snow said North Korea "is the nation that in 1999 said it would forswear all nuclear testing, has been urged by the U.N. Security Council not to do so and has been given the option by the United States of a way peacefully to meet its energy needs.''

Snow said North Korea has been "offered to be reintegrated into the international community'' and to get help with its severe poverty.

"It's important for a lot of reasons to maintain a non-nuclear Korean peninsula,'' Snow said. "We hope that will be the situation when all this is said and done.''